Shogun Update: Seasons 2 & 3 Will Have ‘Separate Narratives’ With ‘Continuing Characters’

John Landgraf, the chairman of FX Networks, has given an update about the second and third seasons of Shogun.

Shogun premiered on FX and FX on Hulu in February 2024. While it was initially intended to be a one-season miniseries, development began on two additional seasons shortly after the first season concluded. The series recently won 18 awards at the 76th Primetime Emmys.

Speaking to Deadline about the future of Shōgun, Landgraf shared an update about what fans can expect out of the two forthcoming seasons.

What did John Landgraf say about Shogun Season 2 and Season 3?

“We’re moving forward,” Landgraf said of Shōgun Season 2. “Scripts are coming in, outlines are coming in, we’re trying to figure out where we’re going to shoot it, whether we’re going to shoot in the exact same manner and place we did before or whether we’re going to make some changes.”

When asked if Shōgun Season 2 and Season 3 would be shot back-to-back, Landgraf said they would not be because they are “separate narratives.”

He continued, “They’re all part of one continuous narrative, with, with continuing characters, but they’re separate narratives. I don’t know that we’re certain there will three seasons, but in really looking at the characters in the history that’s being depicted here, albeit in a fictionalized manner, it still feels to us like three is the right number of seasons to really do it justice.”

Landgraf also said, “I’ve always wanted to shoot in Japan. We tried really hard to figure out how to shoot this show in Japan. It is complicated because of the scale of the stage base and the scale of the production capacity there is just a little different. We’ve had trouble matching the location and the scale of what we’re capable of achieving there, with the scale of the ambition of the show. Unfortunately, medieval Japan, the castles are not around in their prior form and frankly if they were, you wouldn’t be able to shoot there anyway.”

The first season of Shōgun is now streaming on Hulu. A release date has not yet been announced for Shōgun Season 2.

Brandon Schreur

Brandon Schreur has been writing about comics, movies, television shows, and all things pop culture for roughly five years. He's a lifelong cinephile who spends way, way too much money buying Blu-rays and trade paperbacks. You can find him on twitter at @brandonschreur.